This video is no longer available.
MONROE, NC – Union County parents are tired of getting stiff-armed by the Board of Education. That frustration adds to their growling list of redistricting concerns.
Now, there are new concerns about school capacities and conditions.
Many Union County parents have found that the schools their kids could be sent to are already overcrowded and reports show the buildings are in horrible condition.
But just like parents, school board members aren’t answering WCCB’s questions either.
Kim Hillegas and her family are part of the fight against redistrictnig and now, she’s taking it a step further.
“I started looking, and some other parents started looking and pulling the facility reports, and really taking a look at what’s going on in these schools because honestly… we never knew,” said Hillegas.
Hillegas says what they found is disturbing.
Take for instance Parkwood High School. The school district’s latest facilities report in 2009 shows a capacity of 975 students. Under the redistricting proposal, there would be 1,200 students.
The report also recommends demolishing the building because of its condition.
Parkwood parents agreed in posts on the school’s Facebook page, saying things like: “These schools do need repair and moving more kids in is only going to make things worse”. They also cited flooding problems saying, “our auditorium floods when there are heavy downpours”.
“It’s concerning that these issues have gone unsolved for so long,” said Hillegas. Other schools face similar problems.
The facilities report also suggests that Western Union Elementary should be demolished and Sun Valley High School has “inadequate space.”
“Now they’re going to dump hundreds of more kids into these schools where they really need to focus on being able to make these repairs, or these renovations, or replacing them,” said Hillegas.
